


Corrupted

by draculard



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Corruption, F/F, Hannibal Rising References, Implied/Referenced Cannibalism, Mentioned Mischa Lecter, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: Hannibal Lecter has no part in this relationship, yet Bedelia can still taste him on Chiyoh's lips, and Chiyoh can still see him in Bedelia's eyes.





	Corrupted

When their lips touch, Chiyoh doesn’t taste Bedelia. She tastes Hannibal; his flavor has left a stain on their skin. His whispers are still caught in Chiyoh’s ear, his new, broken voice spinning tales of winter, of charred bodies on the snow, of baby teeth chewing through gristle, sucking what little remains from a gnawed, boiled bone. He’s left his fingerprints on Bedelia’s thigh in the sort of vivid purple he could never stand the sight of, not since Mischa died.

Hannibal isn’t here right now. It’s Bedelia and Chiyoh, alone in the room, sharing memories and bruises, recipes and cover stories. But when Bedelia’s hand finds Chiyoh’s waist  –  when Chiyoh’s lips meet the smooth, sun-kissed skin of Bedelia’s thigh  –  each of them can feel Hannibal’s fingers in their hair.

Combing through it, braiding it, washing it. 

Bedelia catches a whiff of Hannibal’s favorite soap; for just a moment, as she forces Bedelia’s thighs apart, Chiyoh can see Hannibal as he once was, mute and gaunt and somber, his eyes boring into her own. 

When she kisses Bedelia, she keeps her eyes open, and she sees Hannibal staring back at her.

* * *

There isn’t much to say. Chiyoh’s smile is tight-lipped; it glitters like the wings of a beetle. It’s unsettling  –  here is a woman who must be Hannibal’s age, who’s known him since he was a boy, who’s perhaps more qualified to psychoanalyze him than Bedelia is herself. Yet she keeps her lips closed, yet she communicates only in those sly little smiles, those sideways glances.

Her kisses are soft and warm. Experienced. Has she practiced this before? She must have. Has she practiced this with Hannibal? Did she force his legs apart the way she did Bedelia’s, with her fingers slotting perfectly into the bruises left by Hannibal?

Did she stick the tip of her tongue out, pink and wet, to tease him before she touched him? Did it tempt him? The glimpse of healthy, succulent muscle  –  young and tender and vulnerable  –  caged between Chiyoh’s straight, white teeth?

It’s tempting Bedelia.

* * *

They don’t play chess together. Neither of them wants to know who would win. Bedelia reads by the window; she sits curled up on the floor, her legs bare and shining in the moonlight, her hair as soft and bright as a halo. Chiyoh takes her rifle apart and cleans it, but her eyes rarely flicker down to what her hands are doing. Unlike Bedelia, Chiyoh is still wearing trousers  –  but her blouse is unbuttoned, sheets of linen hanging loose against her body, her chest bare and white and covered in little marks from Bedelia’s lips.

From Bedelia’s teeth.

The house is silent; the floorboards are layered with dust and settled in for the night, expecting no more footsteps. Not until morning. Outside  –  the only source of sound  –  a moth beats its wings against the window above Bedelia’s head.

Bedelia catches Chiyoh staring. Her chin lifts; her eyes sparkle; her lips quirk up. But she doesn’t ask Chiyoh what she’s staring at; she doesn’t ask if she’s bored of waiting; she doesn’t ask what they should do next. She only smiles.

She only smiles, and Chiyoh smiles back  –  and then Bedelia returns her gaze to her book.

With her thumb, she wipes a speck of blood from the corner of her mouth; slowly, deliberately, she slides that thumb between her lips, sucking that splash of red away.

* * *

When they kiss, Chiyoh tastes Hannibal on Bedelia’s lips.

But Hannibal isn’t there, she tells herself. He can't be there.


End file.
